MLB Power Rankings

Rank

Team

Record

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1

Boston Red Sox

85-35

—

With a 29-7 record since July 1, the Red Sox are having the best season is franchise history right now. The 1912 group, which won the World Series, finished with a .691 winning percentage. This team is headed north of the .700 range.

2

Houston Astros

73-46

—

After losing four straight at home to Seattle to end the week, the Astros’ lead in the American League West is down to just 2.5 games over Oakland. The defending champs are just 18-16 since July 1.

3

New York Yankees

74-43

—

The Bronx Bombers recovered just fine from that disastrous four-game sweep at the hands of the Red Sox in Boston, winning six of seven last week. But New York didn’t gain a single game on Boston in the AL East standings.

4

Los Angeles Dodgers

64-55

—

After turning it on in June with a 17-9 mark, the Dodgers have been on cruise control since then, going just 21-16 since July 1. They better get it together soon, or they may find themselves missing the postseason.

5

Chicago Cubs

68-49

—

The Cubbies have had first place in the National League Central all to themselves for a month now, but they lead the division by just three games. Perhaps that says more about Milwaukee than it does about Chicago.

6

Oakland Athletics

70-48

—

The A’s are 41-20 since June 1, and they don’t show any signs of slowing down. Oakland is home for the next nine games, all within the AL West Division. This team is 23-10 in one-run games and 20-12 in blowout games. That’s balance.

7

Atlanta Braves

64-51

▲ 2

That 17-17 mark since July 1 isn’t going to get it done for team with a division battle on its hands, not to mention a wild-card spot perhaps hanging in the balance. Atlanta has eight games against Miami over the next 15 contests. Time to fly!

8

Cleveland Indians

66-51

—

The Tribe was slightly above average in each of the first four months of the season, slowly building toward something better. Perhaps it has arrived in August now, with an 8-3 record so far and a 12-game AL Central lead.

9

Arizona Diamondbacks

65-54

▼ 2

Talk about treading water. The Diamondbacks are 18-18 since July 1, and that rollercoaster ride the team was on for the first three moments had flattened out. Literally. The 16-19 record in one-run games doesn’t bode well for the future.

10

Washington Nationals

60-58

▲ 2

That was a soul-crushing loss on national television last night for the Nationals, who cannot afford to be throwing games away like that if they want to make October. With its bullpen, there’s no way this team should be 11-20 in one-run games.

11

Philadelphia Phillies

65-52

▼ 1

Why are the Phillies doing well this year? The 20-11 mark in one-run games is one reason. Philadelphia is tied for first place in the NL East with the Braves, and with the Nationals hanging around, this could be the best pennant race in MLB.

12

Milwaukee Brewers

67-54

▼ 1

We saw this last year, too. The Brewers are just 31-33 since June 1, and it says more about the Cubs that Milwaukee is only three games back in the NL Central right now. Yes, it’s a little bit of a contradiction. No one said baseball was simple.

13

Seattle Mariners

69-50

▲ 1

Just when you thought the Mariners might start folding, they go out and sweep the defending champs in four on the road. Seattle coughed up 22 runs in two losses to Texas right before giving up a mere 13 runs in four games against the Astros.

14

St. Louis Cardinals

63-55

▼ 1

After posting a 24-29 record in June and July combined, the Cards are 9-2 now in August. The NL playoff picture is a doozy right now, with 11 teams in contention for just five slots. St. Louis is making its push to get back to October.

15

Los Angeles Angels

59-60

▲ 1

With Mike Trout on the disabled list, the Angels need to start playing for next season. Somehow, though, the team managed to win four of its six games last week, anyway. Three of those victories were against Detroit, however.

16

Tampa Bay Rays

60-58

▲ 1

Despite playing pretty good baseball this season, the Rays are dead last in AL attendance in 2018. This week, Tampa Bay goes on the road to New York and Boston to see how it stacks up head-to-head in the AL East.

17

Colorado Rockies

63-55

▼ 2

Like Seattle, we are all just waiting for the Rockies to collapse under the weight of that run differential. Yet it just doesn’t happen as Colorado won three straight over the weekend at home against the Dodgers by one run each time.

18

Pittsburgh Pirates

61-58

—

The Pirates played seven road games last week against other NL teams in the postseason chase, and Pittsburgh won four of those games. That tells us all we need to know about the team’s staying power in the NL playoff chase.

19

San Francisco Giants

59-60

—

Of those 11 NL teams vying for the postseason still, the Giants are at the bottom of the pecking order, hanging on by a thread. San Francisco is 15-20 since July 1, and the Giants have managed just one winning month this season. Tick tock.

20

Texas Rangers

52-68

▲ 1

The Rangers have allowed seven runs in a game four times over their last five contests. They lost three of those games, perhaps demonstrating that seven is not a lucky number if you’re a Texas fan.

21

Toronto Blue Jays

53-64

▼ 1

The Blue Jays are 24-32 on the road this season, and the next seven are away from home. Luckily for Toronto, the first four road contests this week are in Kansas City. The bad news is the last three are against the Yankees.

22

Cincinnati Reds

52-66

—

Has age caught up with first baseman Joey Votto? His batting average and slugging percentage are the worst of his career over a full season. Yet he still could end up leading the NL in on-base percentage for the seventh time. Go figure.

23

Minnesota Twins

54-63

—

The Twins went 2-5 on their seven-game road trip last week, losing twice in a row in Cleveland on walk-off plays. This just hasn’t been Minnesota’s year, although the club has gone 45-48 since the start of May. Can we get a re-do on April?

24

New York Mets

49-66

—

Starting pitcher Jacob deGrom has a 1.77 ERA, and he has 183 strikeouts in just 152 1/3 innings. Since he pitches for the Mets, however, his record is just 6-7 right now. He’s third among NL pitchers in WAR (6.9), giving him a shot at Cy Young glory.

25

San Diego Padres

48-72

—

Baseball is weird. The Padres won just five games in all of July, and they already have six wins in August. Those six victories have come against the Cubs, the Brewers, and the Phillies. Come on, San Diego.

26

Miami Marlins

48-71

—

The Marlins have just two victories in the month of August so far, and one of them was against the Mets. Just think where Miami would be without its 16-14 record in one-run games.

27

Detroit Tigers

49-69

—

Since June 1, the Tigers have won just 23 games while losing 39. Detroit has just three wins this month, but the upcoming schedule is favorable with 12 games against the White Sox and the Royals between now and September 5.

28

Chicago White Sox

42-75

—

Remember, this season started in late March, and the White Sox started off 2-0 with back-to-back wins over Kansas City. It’s been a slow, steady decline since then, of course. Chicago is 11-20 in one-run games and 11-27 in blowout games.

29

Baltimore Orioles

35-84

—

After losing four straight times to the Red Sox at home, the Orioles are 49.5 games out of first place. Baltimore scored 12 times and lost on Friday night, and then the Orioles scored just five runs in the other three games combined against Boston.

30

Kansas City Royals

35-82

—

Last Wednesday, the Royals shutout the Cubs, 9-0. In a nightmare of a season, Kansas City has been shutout just as many times as it has shutout the opponent (eight). That’s is kind of strange for a team 47 games under .500, isn’t it?